Vince Gibson

College coach infobox
Name = Vince Gibson

---

Caption =
DateOfBirth = March 27 1933
Birthplace = Birmingham, Alabama
DateOfDeath =
Sport = College football
College =
Title =
CurrentRecord =
OverallRecord = 75-98-2
Awards = Big Eight Conference COY ("1970")
Championships =
CFbDWID = 861
Player = Trigger
Years = 1954-1955
Team = Florida State University
Position = Offensive Guard
Coach = Trigger
CoachYears = 1967-1974
1975-1979
1980-1982
CoachTeams = Kansas State University
University of Louisville
Tulane University
FootballHOF =

Vince Gibson (born March 27 1933, in Birmingham, Alabama) is a former American football coach.cite web | title = Alabama Sports Hall of Fame profile | url = http://www.ashof.org/index.php?src=directory&view=company&srctype=display&back=company&id=324&sor=name&search=Gibson&submenu=Inductees&pos=0,15,1 | format = English | accessdate = 2007-08-02] He served as head coach at three universities from 1967 to 1982. In 1992 Gibson coached the New Orleans Night of the Arena Football League. [cite web | title = List of AFL Coaches | url = http://www.arenafan.com/history/?page=coaches | format = English | accessdate = 2007-08-02]

Gibson graduated from Florida State University in 1955, where he received two letters playing as an offensive guard for the Seminoles. He entered the coaching profession immediately after graduation.

Coaching career

Gibson's first head football coaching position was at South Georgia College in 1956, a position he held for three years. Following his stint at South Georgia, Gibson returned to Florida State to work as an assistant coach from 1959 to 1963. Gibson next served as defensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee from 1964 to 1966.

Kansas State

Prior to the 1967 football season, Gibson was hired as head coach at Kansas State University. When he was hired, the school was mired in a 21-game non-winning streak and had not enjoyed a winning season since 1954, but he promised the Wildcat fans, "We gonna win!"Citation | title = Sanctions Still Trouble Cats' Gibson | newspaper = The Topeka Capital-Journal | date = October 14, 2000 | url = http://cjonline.com/stories/101400/spo_ksuhof.shtml]

Gibson's first season at Kansas State ended with a 1-9 record, but the next year the team showed significant improvement. Behind sophomore quarterback Lynn Dickey, the 1968 squad earned the school's first national ranking in the AP Poll and shut out the University of Nebraska in Lincoln for the school's first victory over NU in a decade. That same season, Kansas State also moved into a new football stadium.

Gibson truly began to deliver on his promise to win during the 1969 season. The team started 2-0 before second-ranked Penn State University arrived to play in Manhattan, Kansas. Penn State would ultimately finish the 1969 season undefeated, but Kansas State provided them with one of their toughtest tests in a 17-14 game. Following the loss to Penn State, Kansas State reeled off three straight victories, including a win over defending conference champion Kansas in the first Governor's Cup game, and a 59-21 blowout of eleventh-ranked Oklahoma, which was Kansas State's first win over OU since 1934. (It was also the largest loss in Oklahoma's history.) After the Oklahoma game, Kansas State sported a 5-1 record and a #12 national ranking in the AP Poll. This was the high-point of the season, as the team lost its last four games to finish 5-5. Nevertheless, in only his third season, Gibson had dramatically improved the program.

Prior to the 1970 season, Gibson was named the pre-season national coach of the year by Playboy Magazine. The season that followed was up-and-down but ultimately disappointing despite a winning record and a second-place finish in the Big Eight Conference. Kansas State won at Oklahoma and defeated eighth-ranked Colorado, but the season was soured by nonconference defeats and a blow-out loss to Nebraska in the final conference game of the year with the conference title on the line. The worst news of the season came on October 7, 1970, when the conference issued penalties against Kansas State for recruiting violations. Gibson later said that the three-year sanctions destroyed his program.

Kansas State stagnated following the 1970 season, with Gibson's teams hovering below the .500 mark for the next four years. Quarterback Steve Grogan provided some excitement during the 1973 and 1974 seasons, but it was never enough to provide a winning record. Gibson decided to leave Kansas State following the 1974 season with a final record of 33-52.

Louisville and Tulane

Following his term at Kansas State, Gibson served as head football coach at the University of Louisville from 1975 to 1979. His record at Louisville was 25-29-2, and in 1977 he took the school to the third bowl game in its history.

From 1980 to 1982 Gibson coached at Tulane University, posting an overall record of 17-17. Gibson defeated Louisiana State University in two out of his three seasons at Tulane and also coached the Green Wave to an appearance in the Hall of Fame bowl.

Awards

Gibson was named the Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year in 1970. He was also selected to coach the North squad in the 1971 North-South Shrine Game.

Gibson is enshrined in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the Kansas State University Athletics Hall of Fame.

Collegiate coaching record

CFB Yearly Record Start
type=coach
team=
conf=
bowl=
poll= bothCFB Yearly Record Subhead
name=Kansas State
conf=Big Eight Conference
startyear = 1967
endyear = 1974CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1967
name = Kansas State
overall = 1-9
conference = 0-7
confstanding = 8th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1968
name = Kansas State
overall = 4-6
conference = 2-5
confstanding = 6th (tie)
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1969
name = Kansas State
overall = 5-5
conference = 3-4
confstanding = 5th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1970
name = Kansas State
overall = 6-5
conference = 5-2
confstanding = 2nd (tie)
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1971
name = Kansas State
overall = 5-6
conference = 2-5
confstanding = 5th (tie)
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1972
name = Kansas State
overall = 3-8
conference = 1-6
confstanding = 8th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1973
name = Kansas State
overall = 5-6
conference = 2-5
confstanding = 6th (tie)
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1974
name = Kansas State
overall = 4-7
conference = 1-6
confstanding = 7th (tie)
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl = CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Kansas State
overall = 33-52
confrecord = 16-40CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = Louisville
conf = Division I-A Independent
startyear = 1975
endyear = 1979CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1975
name = Louisville
overall = 2-9
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1976
name = Louisville
overall = 5-6
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1977
name = Louisville
overall = 7-4-1
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname = Independence Bowl
bowloutcome = L 14-24
bcsbowl = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1978
name = Louisville
overall = 7-4
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1979
name = Louisville
overall = 4-6-1
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl = CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Louisville
overall = 25-29-2
confrecord = CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = Tulane
conf = Division I-A Independent
startyear = 1980
endyear = 1982CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1980
name = Tulane
overall = 7-5
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname = Hall of Fame Classic
bowloutcome = L 15-34
bcsbowl = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1981
name = Tulane
overall = 6-5
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1982
name = Tulane
overall = 4-7
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl = CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Tulane
overall = 17-17
confrecord = CFB Yearly Record End
overall = 75-98-2
bcs = no
poll= two
polltype= no
polltype2= no

References

* Fitzgerald, Tim. (2001) "Wildcat Gridiron Guide: Past & Present Stories About K-State Football" (ISBN 0-9703458-0-1)
* Stallard, Mark (2000). "Wildcats to Powercats: K-State Football Facts and Trivia" (ISBN 1-58497-004-9)